Celtics
vs. New York Knickerbockers, Sat, Nov 2, 2002 7:30pmTonight
was a chance to ease the pressure of two really bad games in a row for
Boston. They came to NYC to face a Knicks team that had blown 4th
quarter leads in it's first two games. In other words, it
was the Game Someone Had To Win.

The odds looked good for Boston, providing that
at least one of two things happened. The Celtics played good defense,
or the Celtics played good offense. The Knicks no longer had that
dominating defensive presense blocking the hoop at both ends. Latrell
Spreewell got no closer than the bench. If the C's hadn't been on
a 2 game bleah streak, this would have been a lock in the W column before
tipoff.

First Quarter:

The first couple of minutes made me want to scream.
Allan Houston of the Knicks started off hot, as the Good Guys were cold
on the first few shots. It was nightmarishly familiar. But
then, the Celtics started to -- um, drat, it's been so long since it happened,
I can't remember what it's called-- oh, yeah, REBOUNDING!!

It was a fast-paced, high-scoring first quarter,
with the offense often overwhelming the defense on both sides. What
kept the Celtics ahead--and was ultimately responsible for their win--was
free throws. The C's went to the line early and often each quarter.
I liked the way the Celtics moved in the first quarter, moving quickly,
and destroying the Knicks on the defensive end with their rotation.

The Knicks, to their credit, kept making unbelieveable
shots, including one from Houston that looked like it would bounce off
the roof before dropping through the hoop. The Celtics nonetheless
continued to build a lead through the first quarter--largely by going to
the hoop frequently. The quarter ended as Shammond stole the ball, somehow
avoided getting called for an offensive foul, and slammed the pumpkin through
the hoop. That ensured the Celtics lead at 30-27 at the end of 1.

Second Quarter:

The second picked up where the first ended, as
Boston worked the lead up as far as 14 points. Pierce was apparently
over his shooting slup, en route to a 40+ point night. The Celtics
defense was quite good for stretches, but the Knicks somehow eked out bastets
often enough to keep from being blown out totally. Lee Nailon came
in for New York and gave them an instant boost, getting the Knicks back
in the game as the Celtics defense simply didn't pick him up at all on
his first two shots. That was the start of some problems for Boston--there
were some stretches when the defense simply didn't work, combined with
the Knicks doing their thing. Houston had 19 points at the half,
but Eric Williams was a big contributor for Boston with 15 points by the
end of two. The half ended as the Celtics maintained their lead at
59-54.

HALFTIME

Cookie Break!!

Thus far, though the pace had slowed from the
hectic first quarter, looked good. I was worried about New York getting
back into the game, but felt that if the C's tightened up just a bit, that
the Good Guys would still win. The C's were only outrebounded by
three at the half, which was an improvement over previous games.
Our team had the edge in paint points. The FG attempts were dead
even--with New York shooting just a little better. The major difference
was free throws--the C's were 18-23 (thank you, thank you, thank you, whoever
made the C's practice free throws), while the Knicks were 3-3. We
also had only 3 turnovers to 8 for New York. I know the stats don't
quite reflect it, but the fact is, some of those made fg's for New York
were REALLY lucky bounces.

Cookie Break!!

Third Quarter:

The third began as the game slowed down--a lot.
The slower pace helped the Knicks a lot as the C's weren't running on offense
and the New York had all kinds of time to set their defense. The
defense didn't look as sharp for Boston, as New York got better looks at
the hoop and capitalized on that, erasing the Celtics lead and making a
game of it.

The fact is, it made the game more exciting--if
more nerve-racking. I think this was good for Boston, as it meant
there was no opportunity to coast with a lead--neither was there a frenzy
to come back from a double digit deficit.

As in the first half, the C's continued to the
line and made the difference there. I can't stress that enough.
Creating fouls and making free throws was the thing that offset the Knicks
making weird baskets. The lead started to seesaw back and fourth,
and more and more, it was the Paul Pierce Show, making amends for his last
two games. New York is getting batter at drawing fouls on fakes,
and worked their will a few times until the Celtics started planting their
feet on the court.

The numerous fouls began to take it's toll on
New York, as their entire starting lineup was playing with either 4 or
5 fouls. This forced their coach to shuffle the lineup a few times.
That made the play of New York a little more ragged at times, but not enough
to disrupt their game too much. The quarter ended with the Knicks
clinging to a lead, 86-85.

Fourth Quarter:

The Fourth began even more slowly, as the Celtics
categorically refused to run it up court most times. I was upset,
as the Knicks had played last night--a few more runs and they might have
been run right out of the building. New York played smart offense
on the slower sets and kept pace with Boston throughout most of the quarter.
Allan Houston was doing his own scoring explosion, nearly equalling the
exhibition from Pierce, though he wasn't as effective in the fourth.
Neither team could establish a clear lead until nearly the end of the game.
I keep seeing flashes of explosive speed. If the C's could establish
a running game as they say they want to, they could beat any defense in
the NBA. But there was precious little of it tonight.

One of the good signs is tonight, when Eric Williams
proved adept at scoring, he was not ignored, as the C's fed the ball to
him near the end of the game, often sending him to the line. But
even as the game wound down, neither team could get more then 2 points
up. This changed when Pierce went to the line with 2:34 left, hitting
both free throws to give the C's a 4 point lead.

This was the beginning of the end for New York.
The Knicks couldn't rebound off Battie, and Pierce hit two shots from the
spame place on the floor on consecutive possessions. By this time
there was 1:13 left and the Knicks did something very puzzling after a
20 second timeout. After losing the ball out of bounds, they didn't
foul, wasting precious time off the clock. The C's used up the shot
clock, and New York took the ball with 36 seconds left in the game, down
6 points. Then, they called a timeout.

After the timeout, the Knicks scored in 5 seconds,
forcing Boston to a timeout, their lead reduced to 4. The C's took
it in from halfcourt, and the parade to the free throw line began.
Thankfully, it was a short parade, as the C's hit their free throws (YAY).
Delk picked off an errant New York pass, and tried to dribble out the clock
before a pointless Knick foul set up two more free throws. The game
ended as the Celtics pulled away at the very end to win it 117-107.

The Celtics played better than they have been,
but only well enough to beat a depleted New York team. They needed
a stellar night from Pierce, and an inordinate number of trips to the free
throw line to win it. The defense played better in stretches, but
still isn't where it needs to be overall. If the C's can put together
solid offense with the kind of defense they had last season, they will
win big. But right now, it's enough that they won one. Now,
they have to not rest on that, working to improve still glaring problems
on defense. Still, it shows that they've learned their most painful
lessons from the last two games. I saw better rebounding, but they
still need to do more on both ends. They'll have plenty of time to
work on it before their next game on Wednesday, against the Chicago Bulls.